MUSIC AS SOUND AND CULTURE: TOWARDS A NEW MODEL OF INCLUSIVE DIVERSE MUSIC EDUCATION (original) (raw)
2021, Arts and Education: Collected Papers 1: Challenges of Modern Educational Practice in the Field of Art: Current Issues, Dilemmas and Perspectives
All musical traditions stem from historical contexts and similarly all musical syllabi originate from their respective contexts. In today's world we have growing migrant populations with every 1 in 30 people being a migrant, and with Europe alone hosting over 82 million migrants (UN World Migration Report). With the growing relevance and importance of more inclusive education and culturally engaged pedagogy why isn't it happening? Recognized music syllabi such as the International Baccalaureate Program, for example, still homogenize multiple traditions into world music. Western musical theory, technique and performance remain dominant in IB as well as GCSE and ABRSM syllabus. World Music remains a side subject, despite the growing relevance and need for more inclusive music education. The hierarchy within the curriculum subordinates diverse backgrounds and diverse musical skills and talents. Not putting the curriculum in context and not engaging with students' backgrounds disables meaningful learning and even better learning outcomes. I propose 3 fundamental changes to systemically address inclusivity and to enable us to better unlock the benefi ts of diversity in music education. 1. Teachers adopting an approach and attitude as a co-learner. This includes putting their own background as well as the content of their lessons into context. No one is an expert on diversity. By putting content into context and adopting an attitude of being a co-learner, we can create environments for engaging diversity through meaningful learning. 2. Developing new curriculum frameworks capable of correlating diverse forms of musical practice. Diversity and inclusion will remain 'side issues' as long as diversity is not built into the syllabi and educational system. I will put forward a framework for a new musical curriculum based on the science of sound and performance modalities in context. With the unifying factor being the science of sound and viewing diverse forms of music making as diff erent performance modalities in context, we can establish two major pillars working towards the development of a new musical curriculum capable of acknowledging, including and systemically engaging diverse forms of musical skills and competencies. 3. Putting the student's needs at the centre (rather than a strict curriculum). The purpose of developing a curriculum capable of diverse forms of musical skills and practices is to provide the ability to better adapt content around the needs of the students' growth and development more holistically. By working with diverse modalities of music making in context and unifying them through a musical theory based in the science of sound, we can begin to create a curriculum which is universal and yet has the capacity to include diverse musical traditions, nurture diverse musical skills and talents. Working in this way, we can on a case by case basis choose musical modalities and musical practices which are most relevant and meaningful to students' growth and development. This new framework attempts to address the systemic factors preventing inclusion in education but also holds exciting research prospects for reinventing musical theory, and increasing prospects for supporting cognitive development in students.
Loading Preview
Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.